Waters Run Deep
by Taurus Pixie
Summary: Who were they to keep her from her power? From her precious Heart of Kandrakar? She had been the chosen one! The Heart was hers! And Nerissa was going to take it back...by any means necessary. One-shot.


**For a while I've been thinking that it's a shame that we never really ever got a full account of what happened that fateful night Nerissa truly crossed over to the dark side. So I decided that I would try and piece together what hints, scenes and information we have gotten to create a full picture. Of course, this is just my spin on things and will be a bit of a blend between the events in the TV show as well as the comic, though it will probably follow more on the lines of the comic. So here goes. **

**Rated T for violence.**

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**~ Waters Run Deep ~**

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Cold gales howled between the vast mountain range. The sky was a pitch black, showing no hint of light and warmth as snow began to cover the valley below. The storm rendered it impossible to see further than a few feet, though on a normal clear day, you could see for miles until the sky and ground finally met on the horizon. The mere freezing temperatures alone would be enough to make a normal human pass out within a few seconds.

But she wasn't a normal human.

Her guardian attire protected her from the raging storm around her, giving her super human abilities that allowed her to remain standing in an environment as wild as her mind right now. Her black hair whipped around her face as she paced back and forth. A dress of teal billowed out in the wind, and her purple boots left footprints in the snow that were instantly covered up again. It felt like ice crystals were pressing against her exposed skin, but they had no effect. Even if she had been in human form, she doubted that anything so insignificant could distract her right now.

Nerissa growled to herself as she ran her fingers through her long hair, stopping to painfully grip the roots, sensing that she was close. That they all would soon be here. The traitors. Those who had betrayed her to the Oracle. Those who had left her out in the cold. Who had conspired against her – probably from the very beginning.

It was all becoming clear now.

Maybe they had never been her friends. Real friends would have put up a fight when the Oracle had taken the Heart of Kandrakar away from her. They never would have let this happen. And if _she _had been a true friend, then she never would have accepted the Heart when it was offered to her. _She _was the biggest traitor of them all. They were all going to pay dearly for what they had done, but Nerissa was going to ensure that Cassidy paid the highest price for her betrayal.

Who were they to keep her from her power? From her precious Heart of Kandrakar?

She had been the chosen one!

The Heart was hers!

She could feel the ghost of its immense power burning in the palm of her hand. She felt incomplete without its presence in her very soul. It had chosen her. It had no right being in Cassidy's unworthy hands. Nerissa had been chosen to be its keeper, and its keeper she would stay. This was the greatest injustice that Kandrakar had ever committed. She had done her duty. She had protected the veil. She had kept creatures from other universes at bay. She had carried out Kandrakar's dirty work. And this was her re-payment?

Nerissa was going to get the Heart back.

She was going to make Cassidy and the Oracle pay for what they had done to her.

Nerissa ceased in her pacing to stare out into the dark void around her, conjured up by the violent storm. Her breathing was laboured, barely able to contain the screams of insanity over her lost power. Every muscle in her body was tense and ready for a fight. Every cell in her body burned with magical energy, ready to unleash a fierce blast that would destroy anything and any_one _around her.

How could they do this to her?

A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she gently closed her eyes, her emotions spinning around inside her, never settling. Her heart shrivelled up inside her, decaying into ashes before disintegrating and being blown away by the stormy winds. A darkness surrounded her that Nerissa was now willing to embrace. Hatred consumed her in a thick poison that ran through her veins. Though she was stood securely on the ledge of the mountain, it felt like she had just plummeted over the edge. She fell down, down and down, never hitting a solid surface. Forever falling with no one there to help her.

Rather than feeling scared, Nerissa spread her arms out at either side of herself to enjoy the sensation. It was exhilarating. It was freeing. It felt extraordinary to finally embrace this feeling she had been fighting off for so long. To let it take control of her entire being. It filled her with an energy that was beyond description. But it was enough to give Nerissa the strength to carry out her revenge.

Nerissa's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps in the snow behind her. Immediately, Nerissa could sense who it was. Their eternal bond through the Heart of Kandrakar was still there. And Nerissa could feel that the Heart was close. It called to her, begging to be returned to its rightful owner. The power of Xing Jin radiated towards her, calling for the soul that had been chosen to wield that immense power.

"I got your message," Cassidy's voice was carried by the wind towards her.

"Where are the others?" Nerissa asked flatly without turning around to look at her dear friend.

Cassidy sighed. "They didn't want to come. They knew exactly what it was going to be about, and they're done hearing your excuses, Nerissa."

"I see," Nerissa growled, clenching her hands into tight fists.

She heard Cassidy take a few extra steps towards her before coming to a halt again. Nerissa couldn't help but smirk at this. Cassidy had never exactly been good with emotions. She was the baby of the group who always enjoyed joking around and never took anything too seriously. But that had all changed when she had been entrusted with the Heart instead. And people talked about how much Nerissa had changed since coming into possession of the Heart. The nerve of them all.

"Look," Cassidy began, her voice shaking slightly, "I understand that you might still be feeling upset –"

"Upset?!" Nerissa shrieked in anger, finally turning around to face her friend. "_I _was the keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar! _I _was the chosen one! We had a bond that not even _you _could ever possibly understand! The Heart is a part of _me_! Do you have any idea what it's like to have a part of yourself ripped away from you like that? And by the people who were supposed to care about you?!"

Cassidy's face remained unchanging, though her deep blue eyes always betrayed what she was really thinking. Nerissa could see the pity. The uncertainty. The fear. If she could just play on that, then maybe Cassidy would finally relent in giving her the Heart back.

"You have no idea what it's like to hold such power, and…and…I'm worried for you…" Nerissa explained worriedly, taking a step closer.

Cassidy remained still, her russet coloured hair beginning to hide most of her facial expression as it blew in the wind. Her little freckle adorned nose scrunched up like it always did when she was thinking hard about something. Nerissa knew it. She knew that Cassidy was naïve when it came to the true power of the Heart. Being its keeper was a daunting and heavy task. There was no way that Cassidy could handle it. She was too immature. Too free-spirited. She didn't want to be pinned down by such heavy responsibility.

"The Oracle trusts me. He wouldn't trust me with anything that I could not handle," Cassidy calmly argued back, used to Nerissa's tricks at this point. "If you've just brought me here to keep begging for the Heart back, then I might as well leave."

She turned to head back down the mountain.

"Wait!" Nerissa pleaded, holding her hand out. "Please, stay! You're the only one who came to see me and…and that means a lot to me. After everything…I thought that…that you guys didn't care about me anymore."

Cassidy's face melted slightly as she turned back around.

Nerissa fought to contain her smirk.

"Of course we still care about you, Rissy," Cassidy said softly. "We were all extremely worried about you, and that's why we had to take the Heart from you. We were so worried about what it was doing to you. We did it for your own good. Maybe one day you'll finally understand that."

"You're right." Nerissa relaxed in defeat. "I had no idea what it was all doing to me."

"But you're safe now." Cassidy smiled as she finally approached her, placing her hands on Nerissa's shoulders in a show of comfort. "We were – and still are – just trying to help you."

"I know that." Nerissa squeezed a tear out. "But at the time, I didn't. The loss…it was unbearable. The Heart was a part of me, and I was a part of it. I felt like everyone thought I was a failure."

"That's not true at all," Cassidy reassured her, wiping the tear from Nerissa's cheek. "You're still a guardian. You're still one of us. You're our best friend, and we would never think that of you. What happened wasn't your fault. But now we can help you. If you just talked to us and let us in…"

"I'll try," Nerissa choked out as she pulled Cassidy in for a tight embrace.

Cassidy was all too eager to throw her arms around her in return, and Nerissa could sense her peaceful smile against her bare shoulder. Nerissa ran her hands down Cassidy's back, over her blue shirt and towards her friend's exposed abdomen. Her skin felt warm against Nerissa's hands, and she buried her face even more into Cassidy's neck, breathing in her soft tropical scent.

"I don't like it when we fight," Cassidy mumbled.

"Me neither." Nerissa smirked, her eyes lighting up hungrily as she began running her nails across Cassidy's skin, prepared to get at the Heart of Kandrakar at any cost.

Even if it meant tearing it out of her body.

"CASSIDY!" a loud voice called, sounding as if it was right next to the pair of them.

Both Nerissa and Cassidy jumped back in alarm at the sudden sound of Yan Lin's voice that had been delivered by the air around them. Nerissa struggled to contain her growl of annoyance. She almost had Cassidy right where she wanted her. Now those three fools had ruined things. Still, at least she would be able to get revenge on all four of them at the same time.

Three figures began flying towards them from a distance, but their attention was suddenly captured by the ground rumbling beneath them. Nerissa and Cassidy struggled to maintain their balance as the ground began to shake, pushing them further and further apart. Kadma slammed down onto the ground from the air, sinking her hands into the rock as if it was mere butter, splitting it in half.

The ground parted between them, and Nerissa was thrown backwards, away from Cassidy, and nearly over the edge of the cliff. But Kadma didn't seem to care. Her face was contorted into a thunderous expression as she gazed into Nerissa's eyes, looking at her as if she was nothing more than a stranger. A monstrous stranger.

"You fool!" Nerissa cried out to Kadma. "Are you crazy?! You could have killed me?!"

"Are we interrupting something?" Halinor's soft voice asked as she emerged from the storm, her eyes lighting up in a furious fire that didn't match her tone.

Yan Lin landed next to the three of them, gazing at both Nerissa and Cassidy worriedly.

"What's going on?" Cassidy demanded.

"The Oracle said that you would be here," Kadma stated as she rose up from the ground, placing a hand on her hip, refusing to take her dark eyes off Nerissa.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cassidy began growing frustrated.

"The Oracle said that Nerissa was going to steal the Heart of Kandrakar," Yan Lin explained, always remaining the most calm and rational out of the five of them.

"By any means necessary," Halinor sinisterly added.

"Look, please, let's not fight," Yan Lin pleaded, "we can get all of this resolved."

"I think it's too late for that, Yan Lin," came Kadma's stony reply as she continued to glare at Nerissa.

"Stay out of this, fools!" Nerissa yelled at them.

"You were prepared to hurt Cassidy, weren't you?" Halinor demanded before recoiling away as she read Nerissa's mind.

Nerissa screamed at her inside her own head, and Halinor yelped as she fell further backwards, clutching her head in pain and fear.

"She's completely lost it…" Halinor managed to gasp out.

"Cassidy, stay away from her!" Kadma barked.

"Hey! Don't tell me what to do!" Cassidy yelled back. "Nerissa's our friend and we have to help her!"

"Are you blind?!" Kadma shrieked. "All Nerissa is interested in is the Heart. The Nerissa you knew and cared for is long gone! The Heart of Kandrakar has corrupted her! She's a monster now! A-a _thing!_"

"Guys –" Yan Lin tried to plead again before being interrupted.

"If thinking of me that way helps you sleep at night, old friend," Nerissa sneered before shooting a beam of energy towards Kadma.

Kadma managed to leap out of the way just in time.

"Nerissa, stop!" Yan Lin screamed at her best friend, cowering away slightly, unwilling to fight.

Nerissa turned to glare at Yan Lin, her anger almost fading slightly when she looked into the eyes of her best friend. But even she hadn't pleaded Nerissa's case. Even Yan Lin had done nothing to help her. She too had left her at the Oracle's mercy. Yan Lin had to pay too. They all did. Especially…

"What are you doing?!" Cassidy cried out, and Nerissa turned back to look at the woman kneeling on the broken cliff by the side of her, reaching across the gap and pleading with her eyes.

"Taking back what's mine," Nerissa purred, now only having eyes for Cassidy as she dived towards her.

Cassidy held her arms up in a feeble attempt to shield herself, but before Nerissa could reach her, she was quickly yanked backwards by something wrapped around her leg. It snaked its way to her other leg before making its way up her body, finally completely entangling her. Nerissa fought against the vines as much as she could, snarling and screaming down at Kadma who held her hands in the air, determined to keep Nerissa trapped in her clutches.

Nerissa mustered up as much energy as she could, sending the powerful charge down the vines and towards Kadma, who gasped and had to leap out of the way again, causing her to lose concentration. The grip of the vines on Nerissa weakened, and she managed to shake her way free, landing back down on the snow as she dodged the balls of fire that Halinor threw her way.

"Nerissa!" Yan Lin yelled again, as she used the wind to push Halinor away from the cliff edge after Nerissa had thrown more energy her way in retaliation.

"We're your friends!" Cassidy continued to plead as she made the water rise up from the snow, encasing Nerissa. The water froze instantly, trapping Nerissa once again.

"You…are…NOTHING TO ME!" Nerissa screamed insanely as she glowed with powerful magic.

With a blast of energy, Nerissa broke free from her frozen prison while knocking Yan Lin, Kadma and Halinor backwards in the process. The three of them slammed against some far away rocks, giving Nerissa just enough time to turn towards Cassidy, who was stood in shock, eyes wide in fear.

"GIVE ME THE HEART!" Nerissa commanded, her fingers becoming like claws as she lunged for Cassidy once again.

"NEVER!" Cassidy screamed back, now looking at her friend with nothing but fear, anger and hate.

Nerissa tensed up even more, her whole body brimming and ready to burst with energy. She had never felt such a powerful sense of hatred before as she stared at the woman who had stolen everything from her. Cassidy was the only thing standing in the way between her and her precious Heart of Kandrakar. Nerissa was its master, and she was going to do everything possible to free it from someone so unworthy of being its keeper.

"Then so be it," Nerissa growled before raising her hands.

A split second was all it took.

Within that split second, Cassidy's facial expression fell as she knew what was about to happen. Her eyes melted into pools of pure fear and terror. Within that split second, Cassidy was in the air, surrounded by a bright glow of energy, her whole body contorting as Nerissa harnessed her full power, directing it all onto the friend who had betrayed her. Her limbs bent in unnatural ways, and her scream was deafening. It echoed around the mountains, louder than the storm's winds which only served to carry it further away.

It was a scream unlike anything Nerissa had ever heard before.

It was music to her ears. A musical trill that brought her immense satisfaction.

It was only a split second, but it felt like an eternity.

Like a raging river, Cassidy's waters had run deep, wearing Nerissa down, until she had no choice. This was Cassidy's fault. She had nobody to blame but herself. If she hadn't stolen the Heart from her, none of this would have ever happened.

Within a split second, Cassidy's body fell limp in Nerissa's grasp before she finally let go, her body exhausted from such a powerful blast of energy. The body that hung in the air wasn't Cassidy anymore. It was just an empty shell. The screams of her other friends sounded far away as Nerissa focused on claiming what was hers.

She stepped forward before screaming as three strong pairs of arms held her back, all of them watching as Cassidy's limp and lifeless body fell down, down and down, disappearing into the valley below.

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_The End_

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**Well…you all know what happens next…**

**Getting into the mind of a psychotic person like Nerissa was incredibly hard to do, but it was an interesting experience. This truly was heart-breaking to write, but I hoped that you enjoyed reading it, and thank you for taking the time to do so. Please feel free to let me know your opinions in a review, as I always greatly appreciate feedback. **


End file.
